Neal Named Unified SVP, Finance

LOS ANGELES — Unified Grocers here said it has named Christine Neal to the newly created position of senior vice president, finance, and treasurer.

Neal, who has served as treasurer since joining Unified in 2003, will continue to report to Richard Martin, executive vice president, finance and administration, and chief financial officer.

Among her new responsibilities will be establishing a centralized risk oversight function on a companywide basis; in addition, she will continue to oversee strategic planning activities and manage the member-owned cooperative's capital structure.

Al Plamann, president and chief executive officer, said Neal has played a leading role in the past few years in negotiating and managing the company's lines of credit, which enabled it to acquire Associated Grocers, Seattle; finance an expansion of its Stockton, Calif., distribution center; and obtain additional bank participation in Unified's credit lines to give it financial strength for new opportunities.